How to ask general questions in English. General questions in English

IN English language There are 5 main types of questions. The most common are general and special questions in English. This article will be devoted to general questions and rules for their preparation.

What is a common question in English? General Question - a general question is a question to which the answer will be confirmation or denial. Such questions are also called yes/no questions, since the answer to them will be “yes” or “no”.

Rules for the formation of general questions

1. General question and auxiliary verbs

Auxiliary verbs are not translated, but only help determine the time and number of characters. Each tense has its own auxiliary verb.

• Present tense () – does in the singular (he, she) and do in the plural (I, we, you, they)
• Past tense (Past Simple) – did
• Future tense (Future Simple) – will

To ask a question correctly, you must put the auxiliary verb first, then the subject and at the end the main verb and other members of the sentence.

Examples of questions:

Do you go to the cinema every week? – Do you go to the cinema every week?

Does he work at the factory? - He works at the factory?

Did she live in Kyiv? – Did she live in Kyiv?

Will we go to the zoo? - Shall we go to the zoo?

2. General questions and the verb to be

The verb to be is used when we want to say that someone is somewhere, is someone, or describes him. Also, each tense has its own verb form:

• Present tense ( Present Simple) - am, are, is;
• Past tense (Past Simple) – was, were;
• Future tense (Future Simple) – will be.

The word order in this question is as follows:

The verb to be is placed first, then the actor (subject) and the secondary members of the sentence.

For example, if the sentence She is an artist - She is an artist, to ask a question we put the word is in first place:

Is she an artist? – Is she an artist?

If we consider the questions in other tenses, we get:

We were at the theater. – We were at the theater.

Were we at the theater? - Were we in the theater?

She will go to school soon. - She will go to school soon.

Will she go to school soon? – Is she going to school soon?

This room is a very small. – This room is very small.

Is this room a very small? - Is this room very small?

3. General question and modal verb

In English, modal verbs are verbs that do not reflect a specific action or state, but only show an attitude towards them. Modal verbs: can(can), should (should), must (must), etc.

If a modal verb is used, then the auxiliary verb is no longer used. Thus, in a question, the first is the modal verb, then the actor and followed by the action.

You can open the window. -You can open the window.

Can you open the window? -Can you open the window?

I may take a dinner. - I can have lunch.

May I take a dinner? – Can I have lunch?

4. The verb have to in general questions

Although the verb have to belongs to modal verbs, we use it with auxiliary verbs.

I have to be at this lesson. - I have to be in this class.

Do I have to be at this lesson? – Should I be in this class?

We have to come there at three o’clock. - We must arrive there at three o'clock.

Do we have to come there at three o’clock? - Should we arrive there at three o'clock?

What is the answer to a common question in English

Among the answers to general questions in English, two types can be distinguished: positive and negative. Also, answers can be short and detailed, or contain additional words.

In the case of a short answer, the word yes/no is used - yes/no, subject, auxiliary verb or modal. For example,

Can I take this book? – Yes, you can. Can I borrow this book? - Yes you can.

Do you like milk? – No, I don’t. Do you like milk? - No.

In the case of a complete answer, the auxiliary verb and all related parts of the sentence are used.

Did you see this film? – Yes, I saw this film. (No, I didn’t see this film.)

Have you seen this movie? – Yes, I saw this film. (No, I haven't seen this movie.)

Complete answers are rarely used in conversation.

General questions and negative form

The negative form is formed with the help of the particle not, which is used before the verb. As a rule, not is combined with a verb and the shortened form is used - n’t.

For example, Doesn't he go home? - Isn't he going home?

General negative questions are used in the following cases:

Astonishment

Haven’t you met your sister at the park? -Didn't you meet your sister in the park?

To obtain consent from the interlocutor

Didn't you like this book? – Didn’t you like this book?

Why? I liked it. - Why? I liked it.

Delight

Isn’t that picture perfect? ​​- Isn’t this picture beautiful?

Irritation or dissatisfaction

Can't you stop screaming? -Can't you stop screaming?

General questions are the most common and important. Having learned how to form them correctly, you will also quickly learn how to form other types of questions (special, alternative or dividing). To get more practice with this, you can try composing questions by doing exercises that can be found on various online resources. And if you want to learn not only English grammar, but also improve your spoken English, come to English courses in Kyiv at the English Prime school.

We've already talked. Let's talk about construction interrogative sentences in English. The construction of interrogative sentences is a very important topic in English grammar. Wherever we live, our speech consists of questions and answers. Interrogative sentences, of course, in any language imply interrogative intonation. It is this tool that serves to create questions in the Russian language. But in English, unfortunately, intonation alone is not enough!

The purpose of an interrogative sentence is to obtain from the interlocutor additional information or confirmation/denial of the question itself.

• What did you begin to learn last year? — English. (What did you start studying last year? - English.)
• Do you like studying? − Yes, I do. (Do you like studying? - Yes.)

The interrogative sentence and the answer to it form a certain semantic and grammatical unity. The answer largely depends on the form of the interrogative sentence. Before you move on directly to constructing interrogative sentences, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that in English there are ready-made samples(types of) questions and answers to them. And the material presented below is a kind of introductory lesson before studying the following topics:

• Question about the subject and its definition in English

Interrogative sentences in English differ from declarative sentences in their construction. Most of them are characterized by inversion, that is, reverse word order (part of the predicate is placed before the subject, and not vice versa). In some cases, the auxiliary verb to do is used. In writing, at the end of all interrogative sentences, a special punctuation mark is placed - a question mark.

Questions expressed only by intonation in English (You were there yesterday?) are used only in familiar address.

Formation of interrogative sentences

According to the method of formation and construction, all interrogative sentences can be divided into three main types:

Type I (Inversion without auxiliary verb)

The predicate in an interrogative sentence contains verbs to be, to have (if they act as semantic verbs), modal verbs (can, must, should, may, ought) or auxiliary verbs (shall, will, should, would). Such questions are formed using inversion and do not require the use of the auxiliary verb to do. The semantic verb to be, to have, an auxiliary or modal verb is placed in first place before the subject, and the rest of the predicate remains in its place after the subject. In the case of the semantic verbs to be, to have (predicates) in the Present Simple and Past Simple, the subject will be immediately followed by the secondary members of the sentence (objects, circumstances). If there are several auxiliary verbs, then only the first one is taken out. When an interrogative sentence contains a question word, it is always placed at the beginning of the sentence.

Construction of interrogative sentences type I

1. When the predicate is expressed by the phrase there is/ are (was/ were), the verb to be is placed in front of the word there, and the subject remains after it.

• Is there any time left?
• Are there many songs in your playlist?
• Was there a meeting after the concert?

2. If the verb to have is part of a phrasal predicate (to have breakfast, to have a rest) or is used in a modal meaning, then an interrogative sentence is formed using the auxiliary verb to do according to type II.

• When do we have breakfast?
• What time do you have to be there?

In American English, the verb have in all cases forms interrogative sentences with the help of the verb to do.

• Do you have red pencils?
• (Compare with the British: Have you red pencils?)
• How many brothers do you have?
• (Compare with British: How many brothers have you?)

Type II (Use of auxiliary verb)

The predicate does not contain the verbs to be, to have, auxiliary, or modal verbs (except to have). Such interrogative sentences are formed using the auxiliary verb to do. IN in this case The predicate is any semantic verb (except to be and to have) in the Present Simple or Past Simple. When forming interrogative sentences, the verb to do is used in the appropriate tense, person and number (in the Past Simple - did, in the Present Simple for the 3rd person singular- does, for the rest - do). It is placed before the subject, and the main verb in the infinitive form is placed after the subject. If there is a question word in a sentence, it takes place at the beginning of the sentence.

Construction of interrogative sentences type II

Type III (direct word order)

The question word in a sentence is the subject (who, what) or its modifier. Such interrogative sentences are formed without inversion and without the auxiliary verb to do, regardless of the composition of the predicate. The question word, which serves as the subject, is followed by the predicate, and after it the rest of the sentence. That is, the direct word order is preserved.

Construction of interrogative sentences type III

I would like to note that this article presents generalized schemes for constructing questions in the English language. Based on the nature of the question and the required answer in the English language, it is customary to distinguish between five main types of questions, which were listed at the beginning of the article. Each type has a number of features, which are covered in the corresponding articles on our website. But, nevertheless, the tables proposed above can serve as a basis for constructing interrogative sentences in English. Have fun learning English! I wish you success!

There are five types of questions in English. Let's take a closer look at each of them together. Each of the five types of interrogative sentences has its own word order, which you need to remember in order to learn how to ask questions correctly.

1. Question to the subject

In a sentence of this type, we maintain direct word order, leaving all members of the sentence in their places. You just need to find the subject in the sentence and replace it with a suitable question word, i.e. a question to which the subject answers: either Who? -who?, or What? -What? A question to the subject does not require the use of an auxiliary verb in the present and past tense. You just need to remember that the verb-predicate in the present tense takes the third person singular form.

Google shortcode

What forced you to do this? – What forced you to do this?
What made you worry? -What made you worry?
Who works in this office? – Who works in this office?
Who traveled to the south? – Who traveled south?
Who likes swimming? – who likes to swim?

2. General question

In this case, the question is asked to the entire sentence, there is no question word in this case, and the answer is always unambiguous: either “yes” or “no.” Questions of this type are also known in English as “yes / no question”. To translate such a sentence from Russian into English, you need to remember the following word order: Auxiliary verb (depending on the number of the subject and what grammatical tense the sentence belongs to) – subject – predicate – minor members.

Do you often go shopping? – Yes, I do – Do you go shopping often? - Yes
Does she like studying? - No, she doesn’t - Does she like studying? - No
Is this film interesting? – yes, it is – is this film interesting? - Yes
Are you hungry? - no, I am not - are you hungry? - No

Notice how easy it is to pose a general question to English declarative sentences. You just need to find the subject, choose the appropriate auxiliary verb for it and put it at the beginning of the sentence.

We live in a comfortable flat – Do we live in a comfortable flat?
He studies at a college – Does he study at a college?
They usually come here - Do they usually come here?
This student is very prospective – is this student very prospective?
My favorite colors are red and white – are my favorite colors red and white?

3. Alternative question

This question can be asked to each member of the sentence and you need to follow the same word order as when asking a general question, but with one feature - the sentence implies a choice between two persons, objects, actions or qualities and requires the use of the conjunction “or”. Let's pose an alternative question to the following sentence: We finished cooking dinner at 2 o’clock - we finished cooking dinner at 2 o’clock.

Did we finish cooking dinner at 2 or 3 o’clock? – did we finish cooking dinner at 2 or 3 o’clock?
Did we finish cooking or eating dinner 2 o’clock? – Have we finished cooking or is there lunch at 2 o’clock?

4. Special question

A special question is asked to any member of an English sentence and requires the use of a question word, and the word order is also reversed: in the first place (When? What? Where?, etc.) is an auxiliary verb (depending on the number of the subject and on the fact that what grammatical tense does the sentence belong to) – subject – predicate – minor members.

When does your lesson begin? – When does your lesson start?
What are you doing here? - What are you doing here?
When did you buy this vase? – When did you buy this vase?

5. Dividing question

The presence of such a question in the English language allows you to unobtrusively ask about things of interest, and in addition express either doubt, surprise, or confirm what was said. A similar phrase is translated into Russian as “isn’t it? , is not it?". A similar question is divided into two parts: the first part is the sentence itself without changing the word order, the second part is a question consisting only of an auxiliary verb related to the grammatical tense of the sentence and a subject. If the sentence is affirmative, then the second part - the question - will be negative, and if the sentence is negative, then, on the contrary, the question will not contain a negation.

Your sister is a student, isn’t she? – your sister is a student, isn’t she?
You are not busy, are you? – you are not busy, are you?
He goes to bed very late, does not he? — he goes to bed very late, right?
She doesn’t eat meat, does she? – She doesn’t eat meat, does she?

Knowing the rules, you can easily correctly compose any interrogative sentence.

There are several types of interrogative sentences in English. There are dividing, alternative, special, general questions. All types of questions have their own characteristics and rules for writing. General questions in English are usually learned to be asked first.

What is a common question?

General questions in English are formed on the basis of the affirmative form of a sentence. This question requires an affirmative or negative answer. By asking such a question, the interlocutor does not ask for any additional information. All that is required is confirmation or refutation of what is heard.

Have you made your notes yet? - Yes, I have (No, I have not). (Have you already taken your notes? - Yes. (No.))

How to ask a general question in English?

The first word in a general question is always the auxiliary verb. Each tense of the English language has its own auxiliary verb. One of their functions in a sentence is to participate in the composition of interrogative sentences. An auxiliary verb is followed by a subject (noun or pronoun) and a predicate (semantic verb). If the sentence is common, the basis of the sentence may be supported by other members of the sentence that are necessary in meaning.

Do they fix their car every two weeks? (Do they fix their car every two weeks?)

The only exception to this pattern is sentences with the verb to be as a predicate. tenses Present(Past) Simple. One of the features of the verb to be in these forms is the “rejection” of any auxiliary verbs. The verb to be itself acts as an auxiliary in such cases. In general questions, for example, he himself comes first before the subject, leaving his rightful place as the predicate. Compare:

Statement

The hats are too expensive to buy them now. - These hats are too expensive to buy now.

General question

Are the hats too expensive to buy them now. - Are these hats too expensive to buy now?

How to correctly answer a common question.

As already mentioned, a simple “yes” or “no” answer is often enough to answer a general question. Moreover, confirmation of information is often brief than its denial. And this is quite logical. After all, after the answer “no”, as a rule, correct, correct information is expected.

Are these toy soldiers made of metal? (Are these toy soldiers made of metal?)

Yes, they are. (Yes.)

No, they aren't. They are made of plastic. (No. They are made of plastic.)

In the process of studying the answers to common questions in English, it turns out that the “short answers” ​​in English are not really that “short” after all. Of course, in fluent colloquial speech You can limit yourself, as in Russian, to the words “yes” (yes) or “no” (no). But as soon as the conversation takes on a slightly more formal character, this answer will have to be expanded a little.

A short affirmative English answer to a common question consists of:

• "Yes"
• comma after it,
• auxiliary verb (most often it is the same as in the question).

When translating this entire construction, it is enough to limit ourselves to one word “yes”.

Is it starting to snow outdoors? - Yes, it is. (Is it starting to snow outside? - Yes.)

A short negative English answer to a common question consists of:

• "No"
• comma after it,
• pronoun corresponding to the subject,
• auxiliary verb (most often it is the same as in the question),
• negative particle "not".

In a negative answer, both full and shortened negative forms of verbs can be used. The translation is also a simple “no”.

Did Robin live there? - No, he did not (No, he didn't.) (Robin lived there? - No.)

Features of a general question in Present Simple

It is worth paying special attention to how the general question is constructed in the Present Simple. The point here is in two variants of the auxiliary verb “do”. Depending on the form of the subject, when composing a general question you need to choose “do” or “does”. In order to understand where the form “does” came from, let’s return to the affirmative sentences of this time.

Lima’s parents keep old things in the garage. - Lima's parents store old things in the garage.

Lima keeps her word. - Lima keeps her word.

To a verb that is used as a predicate, (e)s is added in the third person singular. When composing a general question, this ending is transferred from the main verb to the auxiliary one. For comparison, here are two examples of how to write general questions in English in different faces time Present Simple.

Lima’s parents keep old things in the garage. - Do Lima’s parents keep old things in the garage?

Lima keeps her word. - Does Lima keep_ her word?

When does an answer need an auxiliary verb not from the question?

We now know that in short answers to a general question, just as in a general question, we need an auxiliary verb. In most cases it is the same as what was used in the question. But there are times when the meaning of the answer requires changing the subject, and therefore the auxiliary verb.

This usually happens when the question is asked in the second person (subject you (you)), and the meaning needs to be answered in the first person (I (I)); in tenses and forms using the verb to be as an auxiliary.

Are you leaving for New York tonight? - Yes, I am. (Are you leaving for New York today? - Yes.)

Were you deceived by your friends? - No, I wasn’t. (Did your friends deceive you? - No.)

A general question in English, examples of which we have looked at, is quite simple to formulate. But in order to do this accurately, you need to have a good knowledge of the system of tenses (and, therefore, auxiliary verbs) of the English language.

If you, while studying English grammar, have finally reached a fairly broad topic“Types of questions”, then first of all you have to master the “general question”. The general question, or General Question, is fundamental to all other types. Let me remind you that in English grammar it is customary to distinguish between 5 types of questions, and find general information You can read about them in the article: Types of questions in English. And now, we will take a closer look at the General Question.

What are general questions for? What's happened General issues

and what are they for?

General Questions are questions that require the interlocutor to confirm or deny the words expressed in the question. General questions are asked about the entire sentence, and therefore require an affirmative or negative answer (“yes” or “no”). Because of this feature, they were given a second name - yes / no questions. As a rule, general questions do not contain question words

. Intonation in such questions rises towards the end of the sentence. General questions are characterized by the presence of partial inversion, i.e., a change in the order of words in a sentence, when the subject is followed by a predicate (part of the predicate, namely auxiliary or modal verbs, is placed in front of the subject).

Education Rules General Questions

• 1. If the predicate in a sentence is the verb to be (am, is, are, was, were) or to have (have, has, had) in the form Present Simple or Past Simple, then this verb is placed in first place before the subject and acts as an auxiliary. Examples:
• He is a barmen. — Is he a barmen? (He's a bartender. - He's a bartender?)

I have a lot of time. — Have I much time? (I have a lot of time. - Do I have a lot of time?)

• 2. If the predicate in a sentence is expressed using the phrase there is (was), then the verb to be is placed before the word there, and after it the subject. For example:

There was a big fight the night before. — Was there a big fight the night before? (There was a big fight last night. - There was a big fight last night?)

• I can give you something to read. — Can I give you anything to read? (I can give you something to read. - Can I give you something to read?)
• We will go there. -Will we go there? (We will go there. - We will go there?)

4. If the predicate includes two or more auxiliary verbs, then the first auxiliary verb is placed in front of the subject. For example:

• We have been living here for 6 years. — Have we been living here for 6 years? (We have been living here for 6 years. - We have been living here for 6 years?)

5. If the predicate does not contain auxiliary or modal verbs, i.e. the predicate is expressed by a verb in the Present Simple or Past Simple (with the exception of to be, to have), then to pose a question the auxiliary verb do (does) is used - for Present Simple and did are for Past Simple. The semantic verb in this case will appear in the infinitive form after the subject (without to).

We emphasize that the verb do in this case does not carry any semantic load and is not translated into Russian in any way. But at the same time, the entire grammatical load (number, person, tense) is transferred to it: in the Present Simple the ending -s, -es of the semantic verb in the 3rd person singular. numbers are taken over by the auxiliary verb do, turning into does; in the Past Simple, the ending -ed also takes over the verb do, turning into did. Examples:

• He goes to school. — Does he go to school? (He goes to school. - Does he go to school?)
• They live in London. — Do they live in London? (They live in London. - They live in London?)
• She bought a new dress. — Did she buy a new dress? (She bought a new dress. - Did she buy a new dress?)

6. If in a sentence the verb to have is part of a phrasal predicate (to have a rest, to have breakfast, etc.) or is used in a modal meaning (have to), then the auxiliary verb to do will be used to form a general question in the required form. Examples:

• We have a walk together. — Do we have a walk together? (We're walking together. - We're walking together?)
• We have to be there. - Do we have to be there? (We should be there. - Should we be there?)

Please note that in American English, general questions with the verb to haveе are always formed using the auxiliary verb to do. Compare:

• Am. E.: Do you have any workbooks?
• Br. E.: Have you any workbooks?

To summarize, the overall question outline looks like this:

Auxiliary verb → Subject → Predicate → Secondary elements of a sentence?

Sometimes in colloquial speech (in familiar address) general questions can be used without inversion. That is, the word order in them remains the same as in declarative sentences, and they differ only in intonation. Examples:

• Do you really want it? − Yes, I do. (Do you really want this? - Yes.)
• Do you like this work? − Very much. (Do you like this job? - Very much.)

Answers to common questions

Answers to general questions should confirm or deny what the question asked. They can be short or extensive, they can express shades of doubt or confidence, and they can also contain additional words.

1. The answer may consist of a word-sentence or phrase-sentence. Examples:

• Did he ring you up yesterday? −Yes. (Did he call you yesterday? - Yes.)
• Are you reading? − No. (Are you reading? - No.)
• Will you help me? - Why, sure! (Will you help me? - Of course!)
• Do you remember that day? − Yes, of course. (Do you remember that day? - Yes, of course.)
• Have you any observations to his behavior? −Oh, no! (Do you have any comments about his behavior? - Oh, no!)

2. The answer may consist of a word-or phrase-confirmation or -negation and (after a comma) short proposal, consisting of the personal pronoun in Im. case and the auxiliary or modal verb used in the question. In a negative answer, the negative particle not is added to the verb. Examples:

• Will you attend our dance classes? − Of course, I will. (Will you attend our dance classes? − Of course I will.)
• Did you phone Jim yesterday? − Yes, I did. (Did you call Jim yesterday? - Yes.)
• Does your sister know Spanish? − No, she doesn’t. (Does your sister know Spanish? - No.)
• Did you enjoy the presentation? − No, I didn’t. (Did you like the presentation? - No.)
• Is he free now? − No, he isn’t. (Is he free now? - No.)
• Can you play tennis? − Yes, I can. (Do you know how to play tennis? - Yes.)

Answers can be without words of confirmation or denial.

• Did you read the letter I gave you? − I didn’t. (Did you read the letter I gave you? - No.)
• Was she at the party on Monday? - She was. (Was she at the party on Monday? - Yes.)

Please note that in Russian short answers may repeat the predicate that was in the general question. For example:

• Did you write her a letter? - Yes, I wrote it.
• Are you buying these earrings? - Yes, I’m buying it.

In English, the semantic verb is never repeated in a short answer. For example:

• Have you bought this book? − No, I haven’t. (Did you buy this book? - No.)
• Did you feed your dog? − Yes, I did. (Have you fed your dog? - Yes.)

3. The answer to a general question may consist of confirmation or denial with a tinge of regret or uncertainty. In this case, the answers consist of a subject and verbs: believe - to believe, think - to think, suppose - to assume, hope - to hope, to be afraid - to be afraid, with the adverb so or with the negation not (in the negative form). For example:

• I think so − I think so
• I don’t think so − I don’t think so
• I hope so - I hope
• I hope not - I hope not
• We'll have to wait here long? − I hope not. (Will we have to wait here for a long time? - I hope not.)
• Is it time to leave? − Yes, I think so. (Is it time to leave? - I think so.)
• Is it a good idea to go there on Friday? − I don’t think so. (This good idea should you go there on Friday? - Don't think.)
• Instead of so and not, short phrases of confirmation or negation are sometimes used. For example:
• Do you remember where Nick lives? − I’m afraid I don’t. (Do you remember where Nick lives? - I'm afraid not.)

Negative form of general questions

The negative form of general questions in English expresses surprise. In Russian, it corresponds to questions that begin with the words “is it possible”, “is it really possible”.

To form a negative form, the negation not is used, which is placed before the semantic verb. But the full form not is very rare; it usually merges with the auxiliary or modal verb into one whole (n"t). Examples:

• Does she not speak Spanish? = Doesn’t she speak Spanish? (Doesn't she speak Spanish?)
• Must I not go there? = Mustn’t I go there? (Shouldn't I go there?)

When answering a similar question in Russian, we can use two options containing either denial or confirmation. For example: “yes, I should”, “no, I should”. In English, everything is much stricter: an affirmative answer is always Yes, a negative answer is always No.